Tag Archives: music

Day 7: For the Musical and Theological Christian, Inspiration

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A musician picks his or her notes for various reasons: I chose mine for the intro, turnaround, and outro for these reasons, among others. And Christians let the word of Christ dwell richly in them, I hope some can take inspiration for their own melody-making in their heart to the Lord.

The Higher Melody: The Lord of Heaven has set the pattern for us to emulate here on earth.
Repeated an Octave Lower: This is the pattern as we walk it here on earth.
Middle C: The place all students of the piano start, symbolizing that this is as basic to the Christian life as Middle C on the Piano.
The 7 tones: 7 is a number symbolizing completeness.
Resolving to the Tonic: Even though the melody jumps high and low, it comes back to the note in the middle of the five notes, which we also discover as we listen is the gravitational center of the music. Even so, the Cross is where high and low meet and find that this is ground zero for the new Kingdom.

When you listen to the melody, you may now hear more of the meaning that was put there, and when you look at the Cross of Christ, I hope you will see more of the meaning that has been put there. Also, the song’s meter is a common meter of eight syllables followed by six syllables and eight and six again. (8.6.8.6) It makes it easy to sing together, put other melodies to like “Amazing Grace,” or “Auld Lang Syne,” and to memorize. May the message of the cross be kept in a common enough meter for all mankind to sing it as one. This anthem was written for the whole church. May His body be fully gathered to carry His cross for the lost world, who desperately needs to know His sacrificial love in human form—the reason for which Christ Jesus came in the first place.

In Galatians 6:14, Paul said, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” For the Christian, there is nothing else to boast of. When you consider the richness of the word of Christ, it indeed dwells in you and inspires song, hymn, and spiritual song! Even nations unsubmitted to the Gospel reign of Jesus are moved to song by His victory of humble love. Far be it from us that we should boast in anything—any gift, any program, any wealth, or prowess. But thy cross is thy boast: for this we have embraced is the only fitting requisite for the resurrection crown of glory.

And so I leave it with you: The Word of the Cross. “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) This Word is sufficient to effect exhortation, justification, restoration, emancipation, liberation, polarization, and inspiration. Reinterpret your whole life according to the cross, take it up and follow Him, and O the blessing it will be to the world and to you in Christ! Let’s just say, you too will have before you the same “joy that was set before Him.” (Hebrews 12:2). And what does God’s word in James 5:13 tell him who is joyful to do? “Let Him sing praises.”

Reflection Questions:

  • Which verse of the song stands out the most to you in your life right now?
  • What other aspects of Christ’s work of the cross could be added to these five?
  • What other melodies could you use to sing this song?
  • Write your own song expressing thankful praise to God for His saving work at the Cross, and share it with your brothers and sisters.

“I Love Thy Cross”– One-Week Devotional: Foreword

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I want to be careful not to be too careful in this devotional. Not only is the message of the cross offensive and foolish in man’s eyes, but any attempt to make it otherwise is offensive and foolish in God’s eyes. I also don’t want to explain too much behind the artwork, depriving this form of its potency. Still, I think some guided reflection can be helpful both for those ready to pick up and carry their cross and those not prepared to do so.

Furthermore, one of the purposes of this song is to be an anthem for the body of Christ, the church, to sing as one. In the poem, there are five problems that afflict the body, keeping it from cooperating to carry something as uncomfortably heavy and deathly humiliating as a cross. While in each verse, the cross answers a different issue, every believer needs the reminder of these aspects of the cross. I hope that this will inspire more verse and song written about the Cross of Christ.

The first verse addresses the tendency to keep one’s Christianity private and personal to the individual. It calls the one not bearing fruit of loving relationships to meditate on the significance of justification and to walk in Christ’s steps by laying down his or her life each day so that others may know Christ’s love through him or her.

The second verse addresses the stumbling block of feeling too wounded and broken to bear any cross on anyone else’s behalf. It calls the one who feels this way to recognize Jesus’ restoration that He accomplished on the cross, that His glory is revealed in brokenness.

The third verse addresses how many feel the torment of demonic oppression ties their hands. For the one who feels too bound up with spiritual torment to carry the cross, this song calls him to embrace the emancipation of Christ’s victory on the cross and bear his or her cross as the means to conquer spiritual adversaries.

The fourth addresses the appetites of the flesh and the old self to which Christians so easily succumb, independent of following Christ. To the one who is living for self and too distracted or drawn away by idolatry and addiction, this song calls to ongoing liberation, carrying a cross that calls for an embrace of death to self and the experience of walking with Jesus in newness of life.

The fifth verse, like Jesus’ end to the Sermon on the Mount, delivers an ultimatum to those who remain uncommitted to carrying their cross and shows them a polarization, calling them to bear their cross with Jesus, or they will find themselves on the wrong side of the lines drawn by persecution.

It is His Holiness

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I am overwhelmed by my study of the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 to the point I am physically reacting to it. Translation is like playing chicken with God. After being blown away by His holiness, I recorded this cry of my heart, and I believe He wanted me to share it. So here it is. It is a fresh piano inspiration in Cm. “Be filled with the spirit . . . making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 4

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JFh2kpYdVIE1_90ZG1gE4ezlLqSpbdKv

The Tuner

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There once was a tuner who walked down the street tuning every instrument he could. The thing was that everyone knew him to be a tuner, so not everybody liked him. Some avoided him because he made them feel out of tune. Others were happy to have someone who would help them stay in tune.

Still, he yearned for harmony everywhere he went. He knew that instruments on their own weren’t as beautiful as they were when they played together. He could tell if any note was not ringing true from the instrument’s most vibrant register. He also wrote music for each instrument to play to let their tuning really shine. He believed that if every instrument was tuned to itself, since the Composer also made very instrument for his world-wide Symphony, then it would sound more fitting and glorious with the whole symphony than it would with just standard tuning in that part of the world. He knew that every instrument needed to be in tune in order for the Great Symphony by the Composer he served to sound as glorious as it could be.

Because of his tuning skills, he found it easy to match any instrument’s tone with his voice. But this tuner, did not always know what pitch the instrument was naturally supposed to tune to. At first, he did not even know what was Standard tuning for instruments in that part of the world. But he checked other tuners to learn and seek agreement.

The Tuner regarded his tuning fork as his most precious possession. The Tuner’s standard for his tuning was the Ancient Music for which all instruments were originally tuned, as well as being in constant conversation and concert with the Composer of it.

The Tuner could play anything joyfully and skillfully, but since the tuner did not know, or often accept Standard tuning, he did not see himself as “a tuner.” He played at his job more than toiled. His favorite thing to give people was the understanding to be in tune with themselves, the joy of harmony created by playing with other people, and the wonder of the grand Symphony of which they were all a part.

His greatest fear was for people’s trust and willingness to tune to him to create discord, disharmony, and disunity within a person, among the instruments, and within the Symphony itself. It would disqualify him as a tuner worthy of the Composer, and he would be worth nothing but to be fired.

Yes, I am the Tuner.

 

A Glimpse

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That gulp of an impulse the eyes take in a flash
A note of musical color in the symphony of sight
Something is swimming in the bright ruby wash
Eternity herein reflected temporally in the light

What reason to keep the eyes breathing in the sea
Instead to savor a mouthful of fresh water in the mind
Resplendent in all its observed possibility
Opened up by imagination richer flavor to find

Quick the hush of beating eyelashes to their rest
Unlocking the chest where memories play in the dark
Villainy cannot pillage what the eye holds with hopeful fist
Yes, the world is more not less than this living spark